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Mastodon State Historic Site

More than 12,000 years ago, this park was a playground for mastodons.

Imperial, Missouri

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Atlas1
A display at Mastodon State Historic Site.   mostateparks
Maston skeleton   mostateparks
Maston skeleton   Kevin Saff / CC BY 2.0
  Michael Reinhardt / Atlas Obscura User
  Michael Reinhardt / Atlas Obscura User
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Mastodon State Historic Site is a publicly owned, 431-acre archaeological and paleontological site with recreational features in Imperial, Missouri, maintained by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, preserving the Kimmswick Bone Bed. It's where paleontologists uncovered some of the earliest evidence proving that humans and mastodons once coexisted in what is now North America.

Bones of mastodons and other now-extinct animals were first found here in the early 19th century. The area gained fame as one of the most extensive Pleistocene ice age deposits in the country and attracted scientific interest worldwide.

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Skeletons Fossils Paleontology Archaeology State Parks

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Published

January 9, 2024

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